7 Signs of Authentic Iranian Tea: How to Spot Essenced (Fake) Tea

As the tea market has grown, telling authentic tea apart from essenced or low-quality tea has become harder for many buyers. Fortunately, there are a few simple signs you can check, both before buying and right in the cup.

Signs You Can Check Before Brewing

• A natural leaf smell: authentic tea has a mild, natural dried-leaf smell; a sharp, sweet or fruity smell usually signals artificial essence
• Leaf consistency: in leaf (ghalam) tea, the leaves should be largely uniform and intact; a lot of fine debris or mixed-in stem signals lower quality
• A natural dry-leaf colour: authentic black tea leaf is dark brown to black, not a uniform, unnaturally glossy colour

Signs You Can Check in the Cup

• Colour that opens gradually: authentic tea's colour develops slowly and naturally; if it turns very dark within the first few seconds, artificial colouring is likely
• A taste that matches the smell: essenced tea's smell is usually stronger than its taste; authentic tea has a taste that's consistent with its aroma
• A mild, natural bitterness, not harsh or chemical: a little natural bitterness is part of authentic tea's character; a harsh or chemical aftertaste is not a good sign
• Later steeps still have flavour: authentic tea still has taste after refilling the pot once; essenced tea usually goes nearly flavourless by the second steep

Why a Clear Origin Matters

The best way to be sure of a tea's authenticity is to buy from a source with a clear origin — a garden and factory whose leaf you can trace. Sehreh's Premium Black Tea is produced with exactly this approach: no essence, no artificial colouring, straight from the Sehreh tea factory in Langarud.